"No more frowning, You won that round. Consider the package you threw at me your prize." He was smiling, and Chris felt herself almost smile along with him. She turned her smile into a sneer as she turned to find the package. Admittedly, her hair had stayed in place which made wrestling with him easier, and Zeven's smile softened as he saw her reach up and touch the ribbon. He noticed her face was tinged pink with fatigue. When she turned back to look at him he stuck his tongue out at her. Chris turned back and started looking for the thrown package.
It was a little left of the arm chair. She bent over to grab the package, it crinkled in her hand. She let it rest on the back of the chair as she shot a glare towards Zeven, who hadn't taken his eyes off her for a moment. She carefully opened the package at one end. When she reached her hand inside she felt the rough texture of fabric. She pulled it out and watched as a pair of pants unrolled, putting them to the side she reached back into the bag and pulled out several shirts. Clearly she still hadn't reached the end because Zeven made the continue gesture with his hand. Instead of reaching into the bag, she grabbed the bottom and shook out the last piece.
It was the same pale blue as her ribbon sewn into soft, silky pajama pants and a button up blouse. It felt as beautiful as it looked, and Chris was momentarily struck with such awe and wonder that her usual stone mask fell. In that moment Zeven leaned forward trying to get a better look at her face, but he couldn't get a good picture of what she looked like. Chris ran her hands over the silky fabric once more before remembering where she was and what she had just been doing.
"Do you like it?" Zeven said cooly from across the way.
"It's a girl's outfit."
"You are a girl." At his words, he could see her back straightened as she went on the defensive. She took a step away from the clothes, and he couldn't help but call out to her, "I don't see the problem, it even has pants!"
Zeven knew that buying the pajamas from her would be an unkind gift, but despite knowing that he couldn't seem to part with them in the marketplace. "After this may I please have mine and Gunter's clothes back?" He crossed his legs and relaxed into the chair. "I'm sure I've already told you what happens to a man when you wear his clothes…" He was frustrated that she wouldn't just submit to him, she had all but rejected both of his gifts, and it was unlikely she would willing swallow her pride. He wanted results and he wanted them now, waiting for a month was too long for him, not when he could have her under his thumb now.
He could see her body shift, the challenging stance she took grated his nerves even further. "And what if I don't?" Any trace of humor left him, "Chris... this is your last warning, don't test my patience." Zeven and Chris locked eyes, "What could you do that is worse than what you have already done?" Her words hung heavy. She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.
Zeven remained reclined on the sofa, his legs propped up on the armrest on the opposite side, "I can't figure out if you are really that stupid, or if your self preservation is that low." He didn't make a move towards her, but still had her caught in his grip. "Have you ever been eaten alive Christopher?" A shiver went down her spine, "or lost control of your body to another person. I am told when I do it, it can be quite satisfying." Zeven folded his arms behind his head, a relaxed gesture that increased the tension tenfold.
"First I'd start by tying your arms behind your back. You can get pretty feisty and it would be bad if I were to be swung at. Then I would pin you down to my bed, knowing you I'd need to figure out something to do with your legs. Depending on what I wanted to do with you after, I could easily shatter your knee caps. And then the real fun would begin…" Zeven didn't look at Chris, his eyes lazily traced the ceiling. Chris found herself frozen, her blood ran cold, she felt like she would be sick.
"I've heard the anticipation is the worst part, so I would take my time. I could watch all the emotions as they rode across your face: anger, fear, pain. I could watch as you try to run with nowhere to go…" Zeven kept talking, but Chris could no longer make out the words as he said them. The cold, dead look in his eyes held her fast. The world began swimming around her, and the sound of his voice kept getting further and further.
"Zeven!" Chris felt a warm hand on her shoulder as she heard someone say something, Gunter stood in front of Chris, but she didn't know when he had gotten there. "Stop Zeven, you sound like your father."
Zeven's mood went from bad to worse, every muscle in his body tensed as he sat upright on the couch. He looked Gunter in the eyes, both of them refusing to look away. They stayed that way for a moment until Zeven realized who he was dealing with. He had nothing to say as he felt his own chest tighten and burn. Zeven tore his eyes away from Gunter as he stood up from the couch. Keeping his eyes down, Zeven stormed out of the room and out the front door.
Gunter sighed as he turned back to Chris, who was still frozen in place. He went to place his hand on her shoulder again, but drew it back as she shuddered. "Christopher?" Gunter looked up at her, trying to pull her back into the real world. He called out again, seeing the light come back to her eyes as she looked rapidly around the room. Then she stared at the ground in front of her as she blinked robotically, every so often the pattern would break and she would blink rapidly as if trying to clear her eyes. "Christopher." Her head slowly lifted and she met Gunters eyes for a second before looking to the side of him. The way she twitched let him know that she was still coherriant and hadn't reverted back to her comatose state.
"Can I do anything?" His question was gentle, like trying to coax a stray cat to come closer. Her voice came out shaky, but her resolve was solid, "pencil and paper, I want out of here as soon as possible."